


heard you on the wireless

by VagabondDawn



Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen
Genre: Gen, Nara Seal Research Group, Silver Queen's Dreaming of Sunshine Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 15:43:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18552790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VagabondDawn/pseuds/VagabondDawn
Summary: The Nara Seal Research Group are popular in ways they didn’t expect.





	heard you on the wireless

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StarOfTime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarOfTime/gifts).



> Request by StarOfTime
> 
> Nara Shikako & Anyone  
> WB: Infamy & Fame & Notoriety 
> 
> -Basically just Shikako starting a radio station. Somehow. Or better yet, doing a podcast. Maybe seal based.

“Takatori,” Yuumei hisses as she slides into the seat next to him. Apart from their two ‘teachers’ they’re the first ones to arrive — though the rest of the Seal Research Group probably isn’t far away. “What did you cover last time?”

Her right arm is in a sling — a souvenir from her last mission — and she laboriously opens her satchel with her left hand and pulls out a notebook and pen.

Takatori has never understood why some of his clanmates _ever_ enjoy field missions. It all seems like a lot of hassle and bother and unpleasantness but to each their own. Konoha wouldn’t run if _someone_ weren’t willing to go out and get knives thrown at them.

“I think we mostly went over Kurome’s ideas,” he says, flicking back through his own notes. It’s all in research shorthand and atrocious handwriting besides, so he’s not surprised that she doesn’t even bother to try read it. There are a couple of places where his notes just stop abruptly, probably where he got too involved in the actual discussion to keep making them.

“I missed that? Blast it,” Yuumei says. “I really wanted to know what she thought the combat applications might be. I’ll have to try catch up with her about it.”

“I think she might be out on a mission right now,” Takatori says, though uncertainly. He doesn’t necessarily keep track of where his clanmates might be. “I heard Ryosen say she might miss this week’s meeting.”

Yuumei slumps in her chair. “Scheduling these is _so hard_ ,” she bemoans. “I always end up missing stuff.”

“Problem?” Shikako asks, raising her head from the other end of the table, where she’d been going over _something_ with Tenten.

“Oh, no, sorry!” Yuumei says, like she’s been caught complaining by a teacher, even though both girls are about ten years younger than her. “It’s nothing!”

Everyone knows that Shikako isn’t… enthused about these meetings, about teaching sealing as a whole. It’s a duty the clan has asked of her, and she’d done her best — done more than anyone could have anticipated — but it still seems like it might be pushing their luck to complain.

Shikako raises an eyebrow at Takatori.

“We were just discussing if it might be worth taking official notes about what gets covered each meeting,” he says. “For the people who miss meetings or just… to go over later.”

“Hm,” Shikako says, and stares absently at the wall for a second. “You could always just see if RnD will authorise the recording equipment again.”

“Oh shit,” Takatori says, stunned at the absolute simplicity of the solution. _Would_ RnD authorise it? For a simple meeting, no. For _sealing_? “I’ll go ask, right now.”

He rises out of his chair, already mentally considering who might have the ability to authorise that and where they might currently be.

“If they don’t,” Shikako says, as if it’s no big deal, as if that’s only one option. “I guess that could be our next official project.”

Takatori mulls _that_ over as he heads off to the RnD offices, and manages to _actually_ shake the equipment out of Requisitions _when he asked for it,_ and not too late to be useful, which just goes to show how much influence the SRG actually has. That’s practically unheard of.

When he makes his way back to the meeting room, there’s _absolute_ silence. Everyone has arrived, but they’re almost vibrating in their seats with the need to _not talk_.

Takatori holds up the recorder. “Waiting for this?” he asks.

Shikako smirks and gestures at him to put it on the table. She seems familiar with how to set it up, checking the cassette and clicking the buttons.

“Okay,” she says, “June 23rd. The fifth Seal Research Group meeting, recording an informal discussion on sealing.”

Yuumei, on the edge of her seat like she’s been waiting for the chance, bursts out, “But how would you even _go_ about creating an audio recording seal?”

* * *

It’s strange how popular the SRG recordings become. Takatori takes charge of making them — and written transcriptions to file alongside them — and submitting a copy to the library, because he’s the designated library goblin of the research group, but even none of them expect how often they’re checked out. They’d expected to use the recordings themselves — no amount of note taking really matches up to being able to go back and _relisten_ to themselves discussing things — but they hadn’t expected the recordings to be interesting to anyone but the ten of them.

But when Ryosen heads to the clan library, she’s the first to notice that that’s not exactly true.

“What do you mean ‘they’re all out’?” she asks in distress. “I need to reference something.”

The librarian on duty shrugs helplessly. “I’m sorry,” he says. “But they’ve all been checked out. There’s a list half a page long of people waiting for them.”

“The books? The lecture transcriptions?”

“There’s one of the Seal reference texts under the non-lending section,” the librarian offers. “But we’ve only got one copy of all the rest.”

Ryosen makes a noise of complaint. “Okay, we’re going to _have_ to get more copies,” she decides. And probably a personal copy for herself because this just _can’t_ be borne. She needs to check it _now_ or her research is just going to _wither and die._ She can’t be expected to just _wait_ can she?

That audio seal is looking like it might be more important than just a theoretical exercise — if it’s easier to make multiple copies than the awkward process of cassette tapes…

Ryosen changes course, picks up a book on auditory genjutsu that she remembers as having excellent diagrams, and goes to find one of the other seal learners.

* * *

When Nanto goes to visit her mother, there’s a familiar cadence of voices coming from the house. For an absurd second she thinks _what is Yuumei doing here_? Then there’s a burst of laughter, an overlapping chorus of voices going ‘no, that can’t _possibly_ work’.

“Mom?” Nanto asks, puzzled. “Are you listening to the Seal Group recordings?”

Her mother looks up from sharpening her kunai. “Oh yes,” she says, “Ainokura said I really should.”

“I didn’t think you were interested in sealing,” Nanto says.

Her mother waves her off. “I’m too old for that,” she says. “I did attend Shikako-chan’s first lecture but that’s too far over my head.”

Nanto glances at the recording still playing. “The research group isn’t really any less…” They don’t even stop to explain things, so it’s not like the recordings would be easier to learn from.

“Oh no,” her mother says. “I don’t really follow most of it. But you do sound like you’re having fun. And, you know, I was one of the ninja who field tested the short range radios, back when we first started to use them. Your little audio seal doesn’t sound too different, I think..”

Nanto blinks, slowly. “No,” she says, moving into the lounge to sit down. “I didn’t know that. What do you think about it?”

* * *

The Seal Research Group watches intently as Takatori sets up the seal in the middle of the desk. It’s bigger and clunkier than a tape recorder — a full scroll laid open with additional smaller scrolls attached to fulfill the function of the cassette tapes.

“Okay, uh.” Takatori clears his throat. “July 19th. The ninth Seal Research Group meeting and first use of the Audio Recorder Seal — name pending.”

They all lean forward and watch as the seal ink spreads down the cassette scroll, presumably recording though they won’t know _for sure_ until they play it back later. It’s been severely tested before this point, of course, but there’s always just that little bit of doubt. Something could always be misaligned or non-functional.

“This is excellent,” Shikako says. “A plus problem solving, guys.” She smiles and her eyes glint. “Now the next step…”

“How do we make it _better_?” Kurome finishes. She flicks open her notebook. “I have a few ideas.”


End file.
